Truck bolster



L. G. MILLER.

TRUCK BOLSTER.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.2s. 1922.

Ljl Patented NWQI, 1922.

III

Patented Nov. 2l, i922. y

narra raras Parent ori-aros.'

LoUIs of. MILLER, or wEsTMoNT BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRUCK BOLSTER.

Application filed January 26, 1922. Serial No. 531,973.

T o all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS G. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of lVestmont, county of Cambria, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Truck Bolsters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to' make and luse the same.

My' invention relates to bolsters preferably formed of pressed steel and-of what is known as'the bath-tub type, and comprises the construction of the end portions of a bolster which are made of a width suflicient to accommodate five or six helical springs of a large and heavy type such as are used with large capacity cars, and to accomplish this the end portions of thebolster which bear directly or indirectly upon the springs are made wider, so that the required number of springs can be placed under each end of the bolster to meet the requirements of use with heavy loads.

Bolsters of this type heretofore made have had their webs substantially parallel, so that the end width of the bolster proper was comparatively narrow and could not accommodate five or more springs of the required size, whereas I spread the parallel webs at their end portions so that the ends are wider than heretofore for the purposes mentioned.

The body portion of the bolster is of the usual bath-tub type, consistingof a U- shaped section, preferably formed of metal, deeper at its center than at its ends and with 'a cover plate riveted to its outstanding integral top ianges and provided with the usual -center plate, diaphragm and side bearings secured thereto. 5

Although my invention is applicable to holsters of the bath-tub type, which are deeper at the center than at the ends, I wish it understood that the invention may also be applied to bolsters which are of substantially uniform depth throughout.

Having thus. given a general description of my invention, I will now, in order tol make the matter more clear, refer to the annexed sheet of drawings, which'form part of this specication, and in which like characters refer to like parts :-4

Figure l is a top plan view of my improved truck bolster; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the bolster shown in Figure l; Figure 3 is an end elevation of the end only of the bolster shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a top plan view showing the end of a slightly modified form of bolster; Figure 5 is an elevation of the end only of the modified form of bolster in Figure 4, and Figure 6 is a side elevation of the end of the modified form of bolster shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Referring now to the characters of reference on the drawings z-l is the main body of the bolster consisting of two web plates Which are substantially parallel in their intermediate and end portions with an abruptly inclined connecting web portion 6 and are connected by an integral lower member as illustrated, while the upper edges of the intermediate portions of the webs are provided with flanges 2 extending outwardly therefrom and secured together by the top cover plate 3 riveted thereto. The customary center plate 4 is also secured on the top of the bolster at its center, and the usual side bearings 5 are also provided, secured to the top of the bolster at suitable locations as illustrated At the ends of the bolster I bend the webs outwardly in somewhat abrupt manner as illustrated at 6, so

that the parallel end portions of the webs amply strong to withstand any lateral stresses to which it is subjected, owing to the longitudinal movement of the car body thereon. The end portions of myy bolster have an integrally formed spring seat 7, under which are mounted the coil springs 8', of which I provide five at each end as indicated by dotted lines in Figure l. 'Ihese springs are preferably duplex and grouped in nests of five and provided with comparatively thin top and bottom plates and are secured together in nests by means of a central bolt (not shown). I also provide column guides l() secured to the sides of the bolster end by rivets 9, and as illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 I provide diagonally inclined reinforcing brackets 11 at each end of 'the bolster, provided with flanged edges 12, through which they are secured to thesides of the bolster ends by` rivets as illustrated. The cover plate 3 is provided with downwardly bent ends 13, which are inclined to the same extent as the body portions of .the reinforcing brackets 11, and the reinforcing brackets are secured thereto by the rivets 14 vthe outer edge of the wider portion of the integral bottom member 7 of the bolster,

forming the spring seat, as 'particularly illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. These reinforcingmembers, by reason of thelr construction and position, form extensions to 'the body of the bolster within its end from near the insides of the column guides to the outer 'edges of the bolsterend, and they therefore serve to strengthen and stiifen the construction tol more properly carry the load to which it is subjected.

rlhe abrupt widening of the bolster also provides a corresponding widening of the bottom bolster member at its ends, which makes the integral spring seats 7 of a width sufficient to each accommodate fiveMor six helical springs for the largest types of cars having. capacities up to one .hundred tons, and the bolster is at the same time i tegral and its intermediate width and strength are similar to prior bolsters of this type, the differences being in the end construction for the purposes mentioned.-

Referring now to Figures 4, 5 and 6 these illustrate a slightly modiied form `of reinforcing plate for the bolster ends, which consists of a casting 16, which is ofy the shape shown and provided with ianges whereby it is secured to the bolster end by rivets 17, andthe end of the cover plate 18 is also secured to this casting by means of the rivets 19. 'A space is 'provided in the web of the casting 16 so that access may be had to the rivet heads -19 for the purpose of driving them, andy :is viewed in plan, the casting 16 is similar in shape to an III-beam.

The column guides 10 'may be either rolled orv cast and are preferably provided.

with integral ribs as illustrated to prevent lundue 4longitudinal movement ofthe bolster, and these ribs with the flat portions between them form the column guides and rest against the truck columns to guide the bolster in its up and down movement on the springs f Although I have shown and described my invention in 'considerable detail, I I'do not wish to` be limited to the exactand specific.

details thereof as shown and described, but may use such modification in, substitutions for, or equivalents thereofv as are en'lbraced ,within the scope of my invention, or as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus. described my invention,

what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A truck bolster, the bodyv portion of which is provided with two substantially' parallel webs, a bottom portion connecting the same, all formed integrally, the webs at the ends beingv abruptly bent outwardly, the ends of the bottom portions thus forming Wide springseats.

2. A truck bolster, thelbody portion of which intermediate of its ends is formed with two webs substantially parallel and spaced apart, the webs near the end portions being 4bent outwardly and'spaced apart a greater width than the intermediate portions, and a bottom member integrally connecting said webs, thus forming wider spring seats at -the bolster ends. p

3. A truck bolster of the bath-tub type, the portion between thel ends having parallel webs which are bent outwardly at the end portions, and an integral ,bottom plate connecting said webs, thus forming wider integral spring seats, a top cover plate secured to the outstanding anges'of the webs, the ends of which are bent downwardly at an inclination, andv a reinforcing member secured thereto and with langed'edges secured to the ends of the bolster webs.

4. A bolster of the. .class describedfthe intermediate portion having a pair of webs spaced apart and substantially parallel, and wider integral end portions, a reinforcing member inclined downwardly from the inner top portion ofjeach end within the same and secured thereto.

, 5. -A truck bolster, the intermediate portion of which comprises a pair of webs.

7. A truck bolster, the intermediate porl120 tion of which comprlsesa pair of webs spaced apart, upper anges projecting out- -wardly therefrom, a, bottom member connecting said webs, with end portions wider than its' intermediate portion, all formed 12.

integral, thereby formingl Wider" spring seats, an inclined reinforcin Amember secured Withineach end of theolster, and a top cover plate secured to said anges and l reinforcing member.

portion, all formed integral,

nasales a 8. A truck bolster of the class described, comprising an` intermediate portion with a pair of substantially parallel webs spaced apart, upper'llanges projecting outwardly therefrom, a bottommember connecting said webs with its end portions wider than its intermediate portions, the webs adjacent the inner part of the end portions extending outwardly in an abrupt manner, all formed integrally, thereby providing wider end portions forming spring seats, a top coverplate secured to said flanges and having (its end portions projecting in an inclined manner within the end portions of the bolster, a pan-shaped reinforcing plate within each end of the bolster, with its upper edge secured to the cover plate, its lower edge secured to they bottom member and its anges secured to the end portions of the webs.

9. A. bolster of the bath-tub type with integral outwardly extending flanges, having an integral end portion formin the spring seat, the lower surface of which is of a width substantially equal to that of the upper part of the bolster body between the outer edges of said flanges.

10. A bolster of the bath-tubtype with integral outwardly extending flanges, the end portion forming the springv seat of which is formed integrally of a width subn stantially equal to that of the upper portion of the bolster adjacent said end portion between the outer edges of said anges. ll. A bolster of the bath-tub type, the

integral end portions of the webs of which are spaced aparta distance greater than the substantially parallel intermediate portions thereof, thereby providing an integral spring seat of a width greater than the other lower portion of the body of the bolster.

l2. A bolster of the bath-tub type, the integral end portion of the webs of which are joined bythe bottom member and spaced apart a distance greater than the substantially parallel intermediate portions thereof,

thereby providing an integral spring seat of greater width.

13. A bath-tubo type of bolster,the body portion of which is formed integrally with the two webs spaced apart,voutwardly projecting upper danges and an integral lower member, the endsjbeing of a width substantially equal to that of the over-all width of the flanges, thereby providing an integral wide sprinl seat.

14. A bath-tub type of bolster, the body portion of which is formed integrally with two webs spaced apart, upper outwardly projecting flanges and an integral lower member joining said webs, the end portions being of a width substantially equal to that of the upper portion of the,body of the bolster, thereby providing an integrally formed wide spring seat, and column guides secured to said end portions.

l5. A bolster having a pair of webs spacedV apart and joined by a lower member, the end portions of the web being a greater distance apart than the substantially parallel intermediate portions, the end portions of the lower member having a greater width than the intermediate portion thereof, thereby providing an integral wide spring seat.

16. A bolster having a pair of web portions spaced apart andjoined -by an integral lower member, said webs having integral outwardly projecting upper anges extending from their intermediate portions and joined by a cover plate secured thereto, the end portions of the web being spaced apart a greater distance than the substantially parallel intermediate portions thereof, and the end portions of the lower members being of a greater width than the intermediate portion, thereby providing a wide spring seat.

17. A bolster comprising a pair of web portions spaced apart and joined by an integral lower memfber, the webs having outwardly projecting upper langesintermediate of the ends, with a cover plate secured thereto, the ends of said web portions being of a width substantially equal to the overall width of the outwardly projecting flange portions, and the lower member of a corresponding width, sti'ifeners secured within the end portions and column guides mounted on and secured to the sides of the end portions.

ln witness whereof hereunto ax my signature.

LOUIS GfD l/HLLER. 

